NeNe Leakes is letting the world know that she is not retreating into obscurity after her contentious exit from the show that made her a household name, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
Turns out that Leakes, 52, had an exit strategy and a plan to level up in the game. The married mother of two, who was born Linnethia Monique Johnson in Queens, New York, has announced to her nearly 4 million Instagram followers that she is planning to open up a lounge in metro Atlanta.
This comes weeks after the only original RHOA cast member informed fans that she was quitting the show for good two weeks ago.
This latest business venture counters what former friend Wendy Williams intimated to Bravo TV producer Andy Cohen on his show “Watch What Happens Live.” Williams said she didn’t know where Leakes would generate income outside of the ultra-successful “Real Housewives” franchise.
In addition to the Linnethia lounge, Leakes has a successful wig line and her long-running SWAG Boutique. She also has a new show reportedly set to premiere on E! before the end of the year, according to The Shade Room.
In fact, Leakes was one of the more enterprising of the RHOA cast members. While she was with RHOA early on, Leakes parlayed her burgeoning fame into two television shows, “Glee” and “The New Normal,” and competed in “Dancing With the Stars” and “Celebrity Apprentice.”
To her fans’ delight, it doesn’t appear as if Leakes is finished even if her career with RHOA is.
“I left the show. I had an offer on the table. I did not think the offer was a fair offer,” Leakes told “Entertainment Tonight.”
“I wish them all the best, really, I do, but I don’t think that’s the place for me.”